L.L.Bean partners with Maine craft brewers on 'Bean Boots and Brews'

Courtesy / L.L.Bean

Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is clinking glasses with five Maine craft brewers to spotlight Maine-made Small Batch Bean Boots and craft beers in a new collaboration they're calling “Bean Boots and Brews.”

by Staff

Outdoor retailer L.L.Bean is clinking glasses with five Maine craft brewers to spotlight Maine-made Small Batch Bean Boots and craft beers in a new collaboration they're calling "Bean Boots and Brews."

The initiative, announced Friday, celebrates Maine craftsmanship across industries and the unique quality of small batches.

It kicks off with an invitation-only event at O'Maine Studios in Portland on Thursday offering the first tastes of outdoor-inspired, small-batch craft beer by five brewers — Fogtown Brewing Co., Rising Tide, Orono Brewing Co., Threshers Brewing Co. and Mast Landing Brewing Co. — and the first look at Winter Small Batch Bean Boots.

Whetting appetites ahead of the launch, a social-media blast features a 25-second video of Bean Boots as beer taps and the hashtag #beanbootsandbrews on Facebook and Instagram.

Starting this Friday the new beers will be available at each brewery and at select stores throughout Maine, while the fall and winter Small Batch Bean Boots will be available at L.L. Bean stores and online.

"L.L.Bean and Maine brewers are known around the world for their focus on quality and innovation," said Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers' Guild, in a press release. "It's been a pleasure to see what can happen when seemingly disparate industries collaborate, exchange ideas and create new products to share."

Collaboration features "Small Batch Bean Boots"

Courtesy / L.L.Bean

The collaboration features "Small Batch Bean Boots" in limited edition colors and materials.

Collaboration has been a cornerstone for L.L.Bean this year, which launched a partnership with Flowfold in June on a new collection of backpacks, totes and gear bags under the Freeport retailer's "Be an Outsider" brand. And earlier this month, L.L.Bean pledged to give $1 million to the Trust for Public Land to create more public parks and green spaces.

The Maine Hunting Shoe, now known as the L.L.Bean Boot was designed and created in 1912 by Leon Leonwood Bean for the Maine Woods. Since then, the Bean Boot has continued to be made in Maine by dedicated boot-makers, with an average daily output of 3,800 pairs — and 700,000 total in 2018.

Also this summer, in a partnership with the co-working company Industrious, L.L.Bean launched a new variation of its "Be An Outsider" initiative in New York City's Madison Square Park: A pop-up co-working space that includes individual workspaces, collaborative conference areas, cycling desks and outdoor team-building activities.

Small Batch Bean Boots aim to highlight 106 years of craftsmanship through limited-edition colors and materials, as well as unique design features.

"Our hope is you'll be the only kid on the block with these unique kicks," said Willie Lambert, corporate merchant manager for footwear at L.L. Bean.